Streams of the Heart
by Quinton Notwen
Summary: It sometimes takes a sudden meeting to bring two lonely hearts together. Can the streams of the heart stave off a drought? reposted and fixed version of the original
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Inuyasha or the characters there in.**

**Streams of the Heart Section 1**

**888**

Jinenji looked out over the field, the dry, brown, faded field. He sighed. Ever since the new moon a cycle and a half ago the sky had been clear. No clouds shaded the poor herbs from the burning intensity of the sun. He lifted his huge muscular arm up and grabbed the buckets up again.

It was time to gather more water for the herbs. The poor little plants were so faded and brittle and some had turned several shades of brown. Others had collapsed under the weight of their own leaves. Jinenji sighed and stood. His hulking frame was barely contained by the roof of the house.

The horse hanyou lumbered from his family's new house. It was the same house that the villager so graciously had built after the appearance of that worm demon. He walked passed the herbs he so carefully tended.

His tanned, saffron skin glistened under the heavy beating of the sun's scorching rays. He knew many of the villagers were suffering from heat sickness, and more came each day searching and asking for herbs to cure it, but Jinenji's mother had turned them away. The two of them just didn't have any herbs left. They only had that which was in the fields and unfortunately that was insufficient for anyone's needs.

He came to the stream in the forest. It was a small stream that was not used heavily by the villagers. It was good that they did not use it; because contrary to what he let his mother know, he still feared the villagers. He knelt down and lowered his head to the water gently and took a long drink. It was so cold and fresh. They were lucky. The stream came directly from the headwaters up in the mountains, so it very rarely dried up completely. Suddenly his ears picked a sound. Bushes were rustling. He looked up.

It was a young woman. She had brick red hair, almost brown, with red armor. A large white wolf stood next to her. He looked very elderly. She carried a katana on her hip.

Jinenji jerked up from his kneeling position. His hands clenched around the buckets, ready to wield it like a mace.

"I'm sorry," said the woman. She stepped back a bit. "I don't mean you any harm..."

Jinenji's body relaxed a bit and took on its regular soft tone. He bowed gently. "I am sorry; I am not used to being snuck up upon."

"Oh it's ok..." The young woman smiled pleasantly. She knelt down to the stream's edge and cupped her hands into the water. She took a drink of water from the stream and shivered. "Oo, this is cold."

"It comes from the head waters in the mountain," said Jinenji quietly as he silently admired the young woman. Most women were afraid of him, and often the village women sent the men of the village to his mother and his hut to gather the herbs they wanted. It was then that he noticed them. Two pointed ears, and then he noticed her claws and the fangs, in his surprise he hadn't noticed that it was a youkai woman that was in front of him. He looked at the wolf next to her. It was a large, elderly creature. _"She must be a wolf youkai."_ Jinenji thought to himself. He wasn't sure how to proceed. _"Was she going to attack the village? Maybe she's going to attack the farm...or the villagers' livestock...but if she was, why was she being so nice?" _

"You are a horse hanyou aren't you?" asked the girl suddenly. Jinenji looked up; shocked out of his thoughts.

The large man looked down and nodded, "I am a half breed, yes. My father was a horse youkai..." The young woman nodded with a smile. She crossed the stream. It wasn't deep, barely going half way up her calf. "I met a hanyou once...when I was searching for a certain friend of mine." She narrowed her eyes in annoyance, but then shook her head and continued, "Anyways the hanyou I met was a dog hanyou..."

Jinenji's big blue eyes turned to the young woman next to him. "Did he have any companions?" asked the mountain of muscle.

"Yes..." said the woman quietly. "Let's see, there was a monk, and a young kitsune, and a little feline thing, and a tajiya...and an odd girl..."

"Did she carry arrows with her?" Jinenji turned his long drawn out face to her, "and did she wear odd clothing?"

"As a matter of fact..." the young woman looked up at Jinenji, "she wore a very short skirt for a mortal female...she had long black hair and she did carry a bow and arrows with her! How did you know?"

"The hanyou's name was Inuyasha, am I right?" asked Jinenji. His face brightened. It had been so long since he seen Kagome or Inuyasha.

"I believe so," said the girl. She blinked twice and thought, "As a matter of fact yes that was his name, he knew Kouga...Did you know Inuyasha?"

"Aye, I have an herbal farm back there outside the village," replied Jinenji. It was so odd, he wasn't afraid of this youkai woman. He felt as comfortable with her as he was with Kagome. She was so beautiful. "They saved us from a demon...it had been eating the villagers..."

"Saved you?" the woman looked up at the large hanyou. "I can't believe some one as big and strong as you would be in need of saving..."

Jinenji blushed brightly. "I-I do not fight. Well, not very much...I killed the demon that Inuyasha and Kagome saved us from, but they gave me the courage to do so..."

The girl smiled. "See, I knew you were strong, you were just being modest...Not like that Kouga...Hmmpf.."

"Kouga?" asked Jinenji. His heart sank.

"Stupid wolf prince; thinks he's too good to honor a promise he made me," grumbled the young woman.

"Oh..." said Jinenji.

"JINENJI!" the familiar voice of his mother yowled. Even though she'd grown much older, her voice seemed to only get stronger.

"Oh, gosh..." whispered Jinenji. He stood and then leaned down to dip the buckets into the stream. "I have to go; the poor herbs are probably dust..."

"Can I help?" asked the young woman. "I mean...my companion and I...well it would not be unpleasant to have a little companionship for the night..."

"Oh I don't know..." Jinenji squirmed. He looked back in the direction of where his home was, and then back at the young woman and her wolf. "Ma, doesn't trust a lot of strangers..."

"We won't, be any trouble," said the young woman, "My companion and I will even hunt for some meat for the evening meal..."

"I will see," said Jinenji. He looked up at the wolf youkai with his large blue eyes, "But Ma will wish to know your name..."

"I am called, Ayame," said the young woman. She smiled.

Jinenji nodded and gave a weak smile, "Ayame. I will ask if it is ok for you to stay..."

"Thank you very much," smiled the young woman and hugged the large mountain of horse hanyou. Jinenji blushed deeply. No woman had ever been so close to him since Kagome and then it was when Inuyasha was around, and thusly he would not have impeded on the feelings he had picked up between them. Ayame released him and he smiled and turned to go back to the hut.

"I will return here with news," called Jinenji. "If she will not let you in the house, I will bring blankets out for you to make camp near by, and I will come to talk with you more."

Ayame smiled and then nodded. The large horse hanyou smiled in return and then lumbered off into the woods.

**888**

**AN:**

**Before anyone complains, I took the original version down, most of the errors were nasty punctuation, lack of finished sentences and just plain lack of detail, so I fixed it, not astronomically but enough that it would have been annoying to replace each chapter with a new one.**

**Basically this is a fix it. I felt that after rereading this story that it needed help, because it was my first story and I didn't really take it seriously when I wrote it. So those who have read it before, I'm sorry to have gotten your hopes up, those who haven't read it before; I hope this is fixed up so that it is at least slightly superior to the original. **


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own Inuyasha or the characters there in.**

**Streams of the Heart Section 2**

**888**

"No!" roared the little woman. "No youkai!"

"But mother," replied Jinenji's voice quietly, "She means us no harm; she is even willing to catch us some meat for supper."

"I don't care if she catches enough meat for us for an entire year, No, no, no!" screeched the woman. "Do you have any idea what a full youkai would do to you?"

"Mother, I have fought youkai before," replied Jinenji. His deep blue eyes were closed. "I can take care of us. Plus if she came to kill me, she could have done it at the stream."

The old woman's eyes narrowed. Jinenji could feel the intensity in her. She was surprisingly scary for her age. Jinenji often times thought facing an army of youkai would be less frightening than facing his mother whilst she was angry.

"Facing one youkai does not qualify you to know what is safe," said the old woman with a sudden calm. "I forbid you to bring that youkai or her mutt in this house!"

"But Ma, she really is just looking..."Jinenji was cut off by the flick of his mother's wrist.

"I have said 'no'," said elderly woman. "There is nothing more to debate about."

"Of course," sighed Jinenji.

888

Ayame sat at the stream's edge. She tossed little pebbles into the water.

"Maybe we should continue on," said the wolf that traveled with her. "We should be moving on...you keep stopping, and with each stop we risk losing his scent..."

Ayame sighed and tossed another stone into the stream. She looked into the water, "I don't know...Kouga...is such an arrogant ass..."

"Ayame-sama!" yelped the wolf. "You shouldn't talk of your future husband like that..."

"He doesn't want me as his 'woman', as he puts it," growled Ayame. She stood up. "He wants that human child...Kagome. Well he can have her, that two timing, foul mouthed, arrogant, stubborn, jackass of a wolf, doesn't deserve me!"

"So you think a lowly hanyou, and a very ugly one at that, is deserving of you?" asked her companion.

"Well, at least he didn't break any promises..." said Ayame.

"Yet," her companion replied.

"Ayame..." called the voice of the hanyou. Ayame gave a short scowl at the wolf. "Ayame, my mother is being very obstinate tonight. I can't get her to budge. I'm very sorry..."

The large horse hanyou lurched from the forest. His lumbering form came closer. A hopeful smile played across his long face, half bald head. He wore tattered work clothes. She could make out the places where fresh stitching and patching had taken place. A sense of pity fell over the young wolf youkai.

"It is ok, I understand," said Ayame, "Jinenji...is that correct."

"Yes, it is..." Jinenji smiled, realizing that she remembered his name only after hearing it being yelled by that overbearing mother of his.

"Jinenji, I will make a camp near the edge of the forest, if that is fine with you?" said Ayame quietly. She laid a hand on his arm.

Jinenji blushed brightly. He nodded quickly. Ayame smiled. He was so overwhelmingly cute. He was just like a wolf pup, so innocent, so trusting.

She took his hand softly in hers. She looked up in those deep blue eyes. Jinenji turned his head to look away but Ayame gently took his chin and turned them back.

"Ayame-san, I should go gather some blankets for you," said the horse hanyou. Ayame smiled and nodded.

"I will be near your house, I trust your mother will not be angry," said the wolf youkai.

"What she does not know can not make her angry," replied Jinenji and he turned and lumbered into the forest. Ayame followed him. Her wolf companion was straggling behind.

"_A hanyou and the princess of the wolf youkai tribe...this is most irregular,"_ growled the wolf in his mind. _"It isn't even one of the pretty hanyou like that Inuyasha..."_

They came to the edge of the forest relatively quickly. Jinenji turned and looked down at Ayame.

"I will go and gather proper bedding for you," said the horse hanyou quietly. He turned and walked towards a moderately sized hut that was surrounded by several limp fields of herbs.

"He's so..." Ayame looked after Jinenji. She couldn't exactly place what it was about the horse hanyou that made him so interesting to her. "...different."

"He's something..." growled her companion.

"You know sometimes you are utterly unsupportive!" returned Ayame and she turned to the wolf. "You just don't like him because he's a hanyou!"

"And ugly," growled the wolf.

"Don't say that ever again!" growled Ayame.

"Just because I don't say it doesn't make it untrue," replied the wolf.

"That's it!" Ayame turned to the wolf and stomped closer, "Go, get out of here, I don't want you around me anymore, you mangy dog!"

"But Ayame-sama..." the wolf looked up guiltily.

"No, go," growled Ayame. "Go, if you like full fledged demons so much you can go find Kouga alone!"

"I will..." the wolf growled, "and then he will know of your infidelity with this thing..."

"He has a name, and his name is Jinenji!" shouted Ayame. She clenched her fists and her eyes glowed angrily in the dusk time light. "Leave before you don't have anything to leave with!"

The wolf turned and ran off. Ayame growled angrily. _"The audacity of that mangy wolf, how dare he speak that way!" _

She was so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed that Jinenji had appeared at her side. A blanket soon was draped over her shoulders. Ayame nearly leapt out of her skin as the fabric hit her skin.

"I am sorry..." said the giant hanyou, "I didn't mean to scare you, Ayame-san."

"Just Ayame is fine," said the young woman quietly. She looked up at the hanyou. A pain came over her heart. She furrowed her brow. _"Damn, I feel this tug of war playing in my heart..."_

Jinenji seemed to have noticed her change in mood and looked down. "Where is your companion?"

"He decided to go on ahead..." said the young woman. She looked away.

"Ayame-sa...err...Ayame," stuttered Jinenji. He reached out tenuously to her shoulder, "Are you ok? You seem sad; did I say something or do something?"

"No, it's just..." Ayame looked up in those deep blue eyes in the failing light. "I need to start a fire..." Ayame stood up and walked off to gather wood. Jinenji followed her.

"Is this about the wolf?" asked Jinenji, "or is this about something else?"

"Kouga..." Ayame looked back a bundle of branches and kindling in her arms "is a man I know. He promised to marry me and then he fell in love with another woman..."

The moon rose will they were in the forest. Jinenji's eyes glowed like smoky orbs in the moonlight. They were looking straight at Ayame. Her eyes glowed like a wolf's in the moonlight, like two sharp hazel pin pricks in the dark shadows in the forest.

"I understand; I have had these feelings," said Jinenji. He walked closer. "No one likes being with me on account of my being a hanyou."

"Oh," Ayame walked up to the horse hanyou and laid a hand on his arm. "Maybe we should get back to camp."

Jinenji nodded and let the female wolf youkai lead him back to the camp. She started a fire quickly and sat down. Jinenji sat on the opposite side of the fire from the young woman.

"If you do not think it too out of place of me I would like to say something..." said Jinenji quietly. His eyes were downcast.

Ayame smiled quietly and nodded, "No, I don't think you could say something too out of place."

"I-I..." Jinenji stuttered and blushed and looked down, "think you are a very attractive woman...in the moonlight."

Ayame blushed slightly and smiled. She suppressed a giggle; but the sheer cuteness of Jinenji's bashfulness was almost too much, "Thank you very much, Jinenji...and you are a very noble man."

The horse demon looked up. His blue eyes twinkled and a smile curled around his face. Ayame stood up and walked over to the horse hanyou. She had to stand up on her toes and kissed the hanyou on the cheek very gently. The hanyou sighed contently and his face glowed red. Ayame giggled softly.

"What's so funny?" asked the hanyou innocently.

"Oh, I never knew I had such an effect on men," giggled the young woman. She laid a hand on the hanyou's arm. "And despite what people say, you are rather cute yourself..."

The hanyou's face grew redder than a beet, even redder than the setting sun. She was afraid, at one point that the horse hanyou would faint from all the blood that rushed to inhabit his cheeks in the form of blush.

"You shouldn't compliment me in such ways, Ayame," Jinenji finally said in a steady voice. "I don't deserve such compliments from a full blooded youkai."

"What does that mean?" asked Ayame. She looked intensely at the hanyou. "You say you know Inuyasha. Then you would know that he is more powerful than many demons..."

"That is true, but I am not Inuyasha, I am Jinenji the timid and fearful..." sighed the large mountain of a man.

"Don't listen to such fiddle faddle..." Ayame swept her hand. "People only say that to keep you from your full potential; they fear you; that's why they put you down..."

Jinenji nodded slowly. He remembered the villagers. They were afraid of him when he showed his strength against that youkai. They had been respectful for awhile then the teasing resumed and they started to brow beat him once again.

"You are right, Ayame," said the horse hanyou. He looked at the full youkai. She was so beautiful and she kept complimenting him and never seemed to be afraid of him. She reminded him of Kagome, but she was not like Kagome; she was unattached. Other than this Kouga guy, who seemed to be some one she didn't seem to like. "I am strong, but I would be stronger if I was not alone..."

Ayame gave a coy smile. "Isn't your mother worried that you're with the big bad wolf..."

A small chuckle escaped Jinenji's mouth. He looked to the hut; he could see the shadow of a figure in the fire light and sighed loudly. "You are correct. Will I see you in the morning?"

"Aye, Jinenji," smiled the wolf youkai. "I have no reason to travel for a very long time, since my companion has gone ahead of me..." Ayame lied; not truly knowing if the wolf would return of its own accord or, in fact, find Kouga. "I will stay here and help with your fields, if that is ok, though I must admit, as a member of a wolf tribe, I'm not the best farmer..."

"It is ok, you can help me, with watering," smiled the horse hanyou. He stood and bowed slightly to Ayame and then walked to the house.

"Why have I become a farmer?" smirked the wolf youkai. She sat against one of the trees and drew one of Jinenji's blankets around herself. A warm smile played across her lips.


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own Inuyasha or the characters there in.**

**Streams of the Heart Section 3**

**888**

The morning sun rose early. Its golden beams of light danced in and out of the trees' foliage. Ayame's eyes flickered open to the sight of Jinenji walking into the forest. Ayame leapt to her feet and ran after the horse hanyou.

"Jinenji! You started with out me!" shouted the wolf youkai. Jinenji stopped and turned. His eyes were a deep robin's egg blue. His shoulders bared a pole with four buckets on each end of the pole.

"Oh, my..." Ayame gasped. "Jinenji, who did this to you?"

"I did," replied the horse hanyou. He took the shaft of wood from his shoulders. "It is the only way to gather appropriate amounts of water from the stream..."

Ayame walked closer to the hanyou. He had such a sad look to his face. Ayame reached up and touched his cheek. Jinenji drew back and blushed.

"I can help you, Jinenji," Ayame whispered. She knelt down and took two of the buckets from the pole. "I am stronger than I look."

Jinenji smiled but his eyes remained soulfully sad. Ayame smiled hopefully.

"We must work fast, if we water the herbs too late, the sun will dry up the water before the plants can drink," said Jinenji. He turned and walked further into the forest. Ayame snatched up her buckets and ran after the young man.

They ran several runs, before the second one Jinenji had gotten two more buckets to put on his pole. Jinenji then continued going back and forth to the river. Ayame followed for a while but her physical endurance did not compare to Jinenji so she did not carry any buckets for a while.

"I'm sorry about not being able to help more," said Ayame to the horse hanyou.

"It is ok, it would have taken longer if you had not been there," said Jinenji. He kneeled down and caressed one of the herbs, "but I fear that no amount of extra help can save the harvest..."

"Is there nothing we can do?" asked Ayame quietly. She looked up at Jinenji.

"I do not know..." Jinenji said and looked up at the sky, "It is up to the priests' and priestesses' prayers to the kami at the temple..."

Ayame reached up and touched Jinenji's back. "Do not worry..."

888

The morning passed on. Jinenji worked in the field. He instructed Ayame of what to do. Later that morning Jinenji's mother came out. She saw the wolf youkai helping her son.

"Wench, get away from my son!" screeched the old woman. "My son isn't going to be tricked by you!"

"Mother," grumbled Jinenji. He lumbered between the two women. "She is helping me. Now, you have not been feeling well, you should stay in the house, and keep out of the sun."

"You, I do not trust," growled the old woman as she pointed at Ayame, "and I'm watching you!"

The old woman growled loudly as Jinenji herded her into the house. She stomped into the house and disappeared there in. As Jinenji came out, Ayame saw the old woman glaring at her through the window.

"She's scarier than some youkai I've met," whispered Ayame. She smiled softly at Jinenji.

"I know," Jinenji sighed. He turned back to his work.

888

A week passed, with basically the same result. Each day the old woman would walk out and each day Jinenji would usher her back into the house, with her snapping and growling the entire way. Jinenji's mother would then glare through the window at Ayame. The two of them, Ayame and Jinenji, would then work in the field, with the old woman sporadically shouting about something needing to be done. This would lead Jinenji to go back into the house to appease the old woman. Eventually he'd return and they'd continue their work in the field.

The evening would bring them to the stream to gather water for both themselves and the plants. Jinenji would then stay with Ayame till late in the night and then would return to the house to appease his mother. Everything was so calm and peaceful. Jinenji was so kind and nice. He started to bring vegetables and what stew he could to her, even though she was hunting for herself. He was so gentle and bashful. He had a cute quality to him that Ayame couldn't put her finger on.

It was a wonderful week that is until its last day. The dawn had come and gone, Jinenji was no where to be seen. Ayame, though suspicious, but let it pass. Seeing as Jinenji had not appeared she decided that she needed to get something to eat. Ayame caught a rabbit that morning, and had cleaned it and even had cooked and ate it, and yet Jinenji did not appear. She looked forlornly at the house.

She didn't really wish to go up to the hut and force herself into a face to face confrontation with Jinenji's mother. She was worried though about the man. He never was delayed in watering the herbs. She closed her eyes and nodded. It would take all of her courage but she would go to the hut and find out where Jinenji was.

She walked stoutly to the hut walking past the poor, wilting herbs and sighed. She came to the door and rapped lightly on the wooden siding of the house.

"We're taking any visitors today!" came the sharp voice of Jinenji's mother. Ayame winced and knocked again. There was a huffing noise then the sound of a walking stick on a hardened floor. The door swung open, "I SAID WE'RE NOT…" the old woman hesitated and looked into Ayame's hazel eyes, "….oh…it's you; what do you want? Probably decided to eat us all up…"

"I am not!" retorted Ayame quickly. She narrowed her eyes, "I was worried about Jinenji; is he ill?"

"No, he is not ill," groused the old woman as she shut the door of the hut in Ayame's face.

"Well then what's wrong?" Ayame ran to a window, "Please…is he ok?"

"HE is fine," growled the old woman through the window, "He'd be better if you demons would leave him be!"

The window's storm panel slammed shut sharply jabbing Ayame's nose. The wolf youkai hopped back and held her nose.

"Stupid old goat," Ayame grumbled as she pushed on the tip of her nose, back and forth. Ayame narrowed her eyes and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Well, fine, be that way!"

Ayame then slouched off back to where she had made camp.

888

"Is that demoness still there?" grumbled the old woman, when Jinenji looked out the window.

It was growing closer to evening and it was that anxious time when Jinenji paced back and forth counting down till the sun disappeared. Jinenji's human form was very tall and thin, his back was severely curved from the amount of muscle tone he lost at these human times. He groaned a little as he watched the sun slowly fall beneath the horizon.

"Come on, come on…" groaned Jinenji as the sun to its slothful plunge into night.

"Don't rush it," Jinenji's mother said quietly as she sipped at some tea. "You shouldn't even be standing; you know the kinks it puts in your back! I'm sure the demon is still there waiting…" She took another sip of her tea, "probably scheming to get you far enough away so they won't find the body…"

"She is not a demon," growled Jinenji. He turned from his mother. "She is not a malevolent spirit; Just think about it, all of this day she could have come and killed us, instead what did she do?"

"She picked weeds and attempted to water the herbs," grunted the old woman, "You know you'll have to make sure she didn't poison them!"

"Mother, why can't you accept the fact that Ayame is not an evil demon but a very kind hearted youkai…?" Jinenji winced as the last rays of sunlight dispersed below the horizon. A flood of strength and energy ran through his veins and he felt his body filling out. He stood straighter and stretched in relief as his muscle returned, "Mother, you loved a youkai, you had a youkai's son, why can you not accept Ayame for who she is?"

"Because your father was killed by youkai, protecting us..." growled the woman. "I just worry that she will harm you..."

"Ayame is not like the others...she has a heart," said Jinenji. He turned to his mother. His storm blue eyes looked at her. "Please, at least let her come in and eat with us...let me explain why I was gone today?"

The old woman looked up at her son. Her jaw went rigid then relaxed. "She may come in to eat...but do not think she can stay..."

Jinenji smiled and nodded. He turned and actually ran from the house.

"Jinenji, I wish you wouldn't place your hopes so high," said the old woman as she looked out the window.

**888**

**AN: I apologize, for taking so long, but I've been going like gangbusters on another fic of mine, and well this fic kind of needs reconstruction from here on out, due to the human time of Jinenji. So things may be a little off and on.**

**Chesbutler: Thanks for the endorsement.**

**Inu fan: Well it's strange because it was born out of a discussion I had on a forum about weird pairings and really this one kind of just came up and I said, I can write a story about Ayame and Jinenji falling in love and at least have it be half as good as some of those Sesshoumaru/Kagome fics. I also believe in the Jaken/Kaede love…but that's for another time…**


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own Inuyasha or the characters there in.**

**Streams of the Heart Section 4**

**888**

"Are you sure about this, Jinenji?" Ayame couldn't believe the old wart had actually decided to let her into the house.

"Aye, but she said that you may only eat inside," said the hanyou with a smile. "It is a start..."

Ayame smiled. She liked it when Jinenji smiled, but this was different. It was a true smile; the shadow of sadness was not over his eyes, and she liked it even more than his other smiles. He led her into the house and led her to a small table. There sat the old woman. The elderly lady's eyes were locked on Ayame.

"You honor me, my lady..." said Ayame. She bowed deeply before the old woman.

"I honor my son, you just happen to be the benefactor," sniped the woman in response.

"Mother," started Jinenji.

"It is fine, Jinenji," Ayame said with a smile. Jinenji nodded and indicated for her to sit at a place at the table. Ayame smiled and nodded and sat down. Jinenji made a place at the table for himself and sat. The old woman served out the soup that she had made.

"Jinenji, I hope our guest likes our humble meal..." said Jinenji's mother. She looked pointedly at Ayame. "I'm sorry if there aren't any babies…"

"Mother…" Jinenji whispered through an agonized sigh.

"It's ok, Jinenji, I am sure that, since your mother made this stew; it will be most acceptable," replied Ayame, she looked up with her hazel eyes and smiled pleasantly. "Even if she is being quite sour, herself…"

The meal went very coldly. The old woman was very chilled. Jinenji, though being naturally shy, bashful and quiet, tried his best to bolster the mood but in the end it was a futile action. Ayame herself tried to bite her tongue when the old woman sent out verbal attacks towards her.

"So demoness, have you eaten many children this month or have you been investing all your time on my son?" growled the old woman as she glared across the table at Ayame.

"I'm sorry?" Ayame looked up in shock.

"Mother," Jinenji breathed quietly, "We spoke about this…"

"Pah, just because she hasn't eaten us doesn't mean she hasn't eaten others, you have to watch these wolves, they're ravenous," grunted the old woman.

"I do not eat humans," replied Ayame quietly and calmly. She looked pointedly at Jinenji's mother, "I think you'll find most youkai don't...as to being ravenous, the wolf tribe always meticulously managed their food supply, and they did so for many years until the deer populations plummeted. That did not happen by wolf youkai hands, but by the bows and arrows of humans…from a village along a stream in our territory…"

"I see," said the old woman quietly and she glared at the stew in front of her and stirred it absentmindedly. "We do not eat much deer, my son does not like to kill them, and he often has trouble watching me cook the meat…"

"That is true," Jinenji looked into his stew, "I…just can't stand looking into those eyes…they're like a small child's…and I just lose my strength…"

Ayame looked over at the hanyou and sighed slightly. He looked so innocent, so docile, like he couldn't hurt a fly, let alone kill a deer. He definitely was not like Kouga, who'd kill a heard of deer and then gut a boar just to show that he could. She grimaced at the thought of Kouga. Something made her lift her head and she sighed as she watched the waning crescent moon move lazily across the sky. She looked down and found her bowl empty. She looked up at the old woman. Jinenji's mother was eating a piece of vegetable. Ayame sat up. Jinenji and his mother both looked up in surprise.

"My compliments to the chef...and the gardener," said Ayame and flicked an eye at Jinenji in time to see him blush. "It was a meal like I had not had in many, many months, truly spectacular."

"You honor my cooking?" the woman looked up. "Even after all those unpleasant words I have said in your direction. What trickery is this demoness?"

"It is not trickery," said Ayame with a calm voice, "I have patience for your mistreatment, because Jinenji obviously has great respect for you, and loves you dearly and as such I would never wish to dishonor him by being aggressive towards you."

"Ah..." The old woman sat back gently. "Such abuse to take for my son, it's quite spectacular…"

"I think, my lady, that you underestimate the worth of your son," replied Ayame quietly. She looked at Jinenji, "A man as sensitive, strong and kind as Jinenji is worth several times more than an attractive jerk…"

"Of course…" Jinenji's mother replied. She furrowed her brows, _"Could it be true, could she really…?"_

"Now, I should go outside, in order to keep watch," said Ayame and stood up. She bowed deeply and turned to go.

"I-I will go with you, to sit with you and keep you company," said Jinenji. She stood.

"Not tonight," grumped the old woman, "You're still weak from your transformation, you shouldn't be out gallivanting around in such shape!"

"I am sure, Jinenji is a formidable opponent, even if he is slightly hampered by his transformation," said Ayame quietly. She turned her head to the old woman, "I do not smell any large youkai or powerful beings near by; there is nothing that will be dangerous to him for many miles."

"Mother, it is impolite to leave one's guests, unaccompanied," said Jinenji. His blue eyes still had the power to charm her with their said deep gaze. It was something she could never truly overcome.

The old woman finally broke and nodded curtly. She stood and walked to her bed room. The man took up a blanket as he turned to Ayame. Jinenji and Ayame walked out into the night. It was strange to have such cool nights after such blistering days, but the heat carried no moister in it to hold the warmth so it the nights remained cool.

Ayame sat the slope the house rested on and looked up into the sky. Jinenji sat next to her and stared at the crescent moon. The young man turned his eyes to Ayame.

"My mother said that it was on the night of the waning crescent moon that my father told her that he loved her," said Jinenji. He turned his eyes to small house that he lived in. "Soon after that he built a house for us, on this land. The house my father built was destroyed though, the night that the worm youkai attacked...The villagers built this in thanksgiving of me destroying the youkai."

Ayame looked up at the sky. "When I was seven...I was attacked, a wolf demon prince, named Kouga saved me and said he would marry me when I was of age. When I came of age our tribe was in a struggle for its territory that eventually led to our evacuation. Prior to our evacuation I had been tasked to find Kouga and bring him back so as to utilize his sacred jewel shards and to have him honor his promise, but Kouga had found a human woman. I was looking for him, in hopes of changing his heart, but I've realized that I really don't want his sort of life..."

"Oh," Jinenji looked up at the stars, "I've always liked working the land, making things grow brings such happiness to my soul. This drought though, has brought much sadness to my heart, it's painful to see the saplings I had so carefully tended wither under the relentless sun, it's like watching a cat play with a mouse after its caught it, you know no matter what, the cat will kill the mouse, that it's inevitable. The strange thing is that since you've arrived I have not been so sad."

Ayame blushed a little. She looked up at the hanyou. He looked down at her.

"Jinenji," Ayame's eyes softened. "I really like the way you live..."

The man smiled softly, and then it faded and became slightly nervous. "Ayame...wou-would it be out of line for me...to well...ask for a kiss from you?"

Ayame smiled softly. Her green eyes glinted in the starlight. "No, not at all..."

"Ayame…could I…?" Jinenji closed his eyes and blushed.

"Yes you may," smiled Ayame. She looked up and stifled a giggle as she looked into Jinenji's shocked eyes.

Jinenji leaned down and softly kissed the young woman on the lips. Ayame returned the gesture gently and softly embraced the hanyou. The young wolf woman carefully unfurled the blanket from around herself and laid it on Jinenji's back and then leaned in and nuzzled against the horse hanyou gently. She gently ran one of her clawed hands into his shirt. He twitched at this and tried to pull back.

"I'm sorry..." whispered Ayame. She looked up into the young man's face.

"Don't be sorry, Ayame," Jinenji smiled softly. "It just surprised me; that's all."

Ayame smiled softly and gently ran a claw up and down.

"I think I have found my first..." started Jinenji, but he was cut off by Ayame as she gave him a loving kiss on the lips.

She drew back, "I think I have too..."

**888**

**Oh my I debated over this chapter, whether it was a little too heavy on the romance side…part of the problem I had with this chapter was that originally Jinenji had his human time at night, which is why his mother protested to having him leave, but since I found out he had it during the day in the anime, which is what I am using for this post-new Naraku Jinenji story, it kind of flubbed things. So I had to fix it. The thing I'm really worried about in this chapter is that I wonder if I have made Jinenji too forward…with the kiss and such, that and now I have to work out the whole audience yuck factor of Ayame so easily kissing Jinenji in his hanyou form, but I think we can dispel that as being twue wuv. **

**Victoria: I got your e-mail, and thank you for your comments. As I said before, this story sort of came from a thread where we had been talking about off the wall couples in Inuyasha fan-fiction…**

**Next chapter is the last, in the original, though I doubt I can be persuaded to continue with the story…I am thinking of another Inuyasha fic, but I'm having troubles with details ie Feudal Village society stuff…**


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own Inuyasha or the characters there in.**

**Streams of the Heart Section 5**

Ayame was awoken by the scent of surging youki. Her eyes flickered open to the twilight sight of Jinenji's horse like face. She smiled softly. He was so peaceful. She gently drew herself from his large arms and drew her fur robe around herself. She stood and her ears flicked towards the sound of wind. Jinenji's body woke up and he started into wakefulness and stood. Ayame turned around.

There he stood. The whirls of air current were still settling. His black hair and blue eyes were right in front of her. His eyes narrowed.

"So, you demanded me to keep my promise and yet you go off with another man?" growled the youkai in front of her. "Not just any man but a rotten vermin hanyou," He looked at the mountain like figure of Jinenji. "He's not even an attractive man...more like a poorly made clay horse."

Ayame stepped closer, "Kouga...you don't have much room to talk!"

"Heh, I didn't make the demand, you did. I didn't even remember the promise, Ayame, but you did and then dredged it up," replied the wolf youkai, "and now you have the audacity to philander around with this thing...You slut, I should take you with me now." He growled and looked at Jinenji, "I bet you and him already have…" Ayame looked aghast at the accusation and the wolf youkai glared, "You're nothing but a slut, going around behind my back like that!"

"I never did anything with Jinenji, and even if I did, it's none of your business, Kouga," Ayame shot back. "You never formally announced your feelings, in fact you continued after that girl..."

"Heh, you don't really think I would wish to have children with Kagome do you?" asked Kouga. He raised his finger and pointed at Jinenji. "And run the risk of having runts that look like that? Oh I think not, I still need a female wolf youkai to do the deed with...and though you can be pushy and naïve I thought you would be a better choice than none..."

"Jinenji is not a 'that', he's a man, a very noble, loving, caring, good hearted man," growled Ayame. She glared at Kouga, "Everything you aren't, you bastard!"

Before Ayame could blink Kouga was at her. His hand was on her throat. "You never raise your voice to me like that...woman...You're lucky that I don't snap your head right off that pretty little body, bitch..." Suddenly in a flurry of movement a saffron arm slammed down in front of Ayame and Kouga was sent reeling backwards.

"Ayame is not a bitch, and you will not address her as 'woman'," growled Jinenji. His fists were up.

"So the pony boy wants to play?" growled Kouga.

"Don't do this, Jinenji," whispered Ayame. She looked up at the horse hanyou. "He has jewel shards in his legs; he'll run circles around you..."

"Let him..." growled the horse hanyou. He leapt at Kouga and slammed his hammer like arms down into the ground.

"Is that as fast as you can go?" called Kouga from behind the horse hanyou. "Might as well as fight a snail..." Then Jinenji felt one of the wolf youkai's feet crash into his back.

"Jinenji!" yelled Ayame.

Jinenji stood up and turned. His face was covered in dirt and his back was hunched slightly, but he didn't look badly hurt. The wolf youkai, Kouga, had a smug look on his face. Jinenji growled and then lifted his fists again. Kouga leapt at the hanyou. Jinenji blocked the oncoming strike with one of his massive arms and punched the other one forward. Kouga escaped the attack easily. Kouga swung his foot around but was caught by surprise when Jinenji caught him by the foot and held him upside down.

Jinenji shook the wolf prince by the foot. The shaking elicited some curses from the wolf's mouth. Kouga then kicked with his free leg and struck Jinenji across the chin and sent the horse hanyou backwards. Kouga landed on his feet and brandished an old katana.

"Kouga, don't!" growled Ayame.

"Shut it, bitch," returned Kouga. He jumped forward, sword drawn, rapidly approaching the fallen Jinenji.

"NO!" Ayame thrust her hands forward and the air swirled with leaves and grass. Kouga flew through it, but fell short of striking Jinenji. His arms and legs were sliced and cut to bits. Kouga turned his gaze at Ayame. His eyes had a glint of red to them. He lifted his katana and he leapt at her.

"You're dead, bitch," roared Kouga and bared his fangs.

Suddenly something impeded Kouga's movement. Jinenji's hand was clenched around the wolf youkai's waist.

"You aren't hurting her!" growled Jinenji. Ayame looked up; Jinenji's blue eyes were now deep lavender. He lifted the wolf youkai up. Kouga struggled angrily against the vise like grip, but to no avail. Jinenji looked directly into Kouga's eyes. "She doesn't want you any more...and I don't want you near this farm anymore, leave...or I'll grind you into dust..." To emphasize his point he increased the pressure around Kouga's midriff. Jinenji then threw the wolf away like a rag doll.

"Ugh, fine, wench if you like this donkey so much, you can keep him, but you'll be crawling back to me..." growled Kouga and he stood.

"Kouga, no, I won't..." said Ayame. Her eyes were soft a tear glistened in the morning sun. "So, please, if you have any feelings in your heart, leave..."

Kouga's eyes narrowed. He turned and disappeared into a swirl of wind.

888

"Kouga...!" yelped the two wolf youkai that were sitting against a rock. "You look like you got beaten up by an army of youkai..."

"Shut up..." growled the wolf. He walked over to the rock with a bit of a limp. "When I have rested...we have to go...I can smell that Mouryoumaru's stench..."

"What about Ayame-sama..." asked one of the wolf youkai.

"Forget her, she doesn't want 'our kind of life'," said Kouga and he stood up. He looked back, "Come on, that compost heap that calls himself a youkai isn't going to find itself..." Before either of them could respond Kouga was gone. They looked each other, sighed and ran after him.

888

"Are you hurt, Jinenji?" Ayame held him gently.

"Not much more than some nasty bumps," replied the horse hanyou quietly. "As long as you're safe, it is ok..."

Ayame smiled. Jinenji's head perked a little and looked to the sky.

"What is it?" asked Ayame.

"Don't you smell it?" asked Jinenji. He took a deep breath through his nose.

She took a deep breath. It had a wet feeling. Her eyes widened. "Is that the smell of...?"

"Rain," Jinenji nodded and smiled contently, "and a lot of it."

Ayame smiled happily and stood up on her tip toes and kissed Jinenji on the cheek. The large, horse hanyou blushed bright red and chuckled nervously. Ayame only giggled and patted the large hanyou's muscular arms.

888

The old woman had been awake. Her hips were aching like none other. She had been at the window when she saw the male wolf youkai appear. She watched as both her son and that woman fended him off. She had been so worried about that girl killing them both, and then she saw with her own eyes; the girl lash out against the young, male youkai. She was surprised that the woman had faced down one of her own kind to protect her son. It was something she never thought she'd see from another youkai. She grunted as she stood up and she slowly walked to the door.

"JINENJI!" she screeched in her voice. "You and that dang woman that's out there better get in here... My hip is turning fits like never before...means a rain's comin'...we gotta get the house ready for this storm that's a comin'."

Jinenji smiled and looked up at the house, "You mean you're going to let Ayame stay in the house during the storm?"

"Well, of course can't be havin' the girl sitting out in the rain, you fool; now come on we haven't much time..." she returned in her owly voice that she used to sound mean when she was really being rather playful.

Jinenji looked at the young woman that was at his side and smiled broadly. She smiled in return. The two young people smiled and then walked to the house, Ayame's hand in Jinenji's.

The End.

**888**

**AN: This is the wrap up. The story is over…for real. **

**I will say that this is a very short fic. I won't deny it, but really I just can't seem to find away to pad it out any more. I still look at this as one of my lesser works, but it is leaps and bounds better than it was upon its first posting. I just wish that I had made it longer…but it's my first and so far only romance story…and I'm not a romance person, so the fact that it got made was quite the…surprise. Any questions…or such leave an email or something and I can try and answer them. As to my other plans for an Inuyasha fiction…Takahashi just torpedoed an idea I had that focused around Kanna, since the poor bunshin was returned to the plot in last week's manga...ruddy timing she has…she waits for a year and half and then as soon as I think I have an idea…bam she shoots it to bits. **

**As to this story, it has an open ending but that does not mean there will be a sequel in the foreseeable future…I don't write many Inuyasha fics because I don't believe I can do the characters justice, so I usually stick around side characters…but I also don't often do fics because I don't think I can do the time period justice…this one was relatively character heavy so setting wasn't so big...**

**Edward Elric: Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the story, and yes this is the end. Sort of an open ending, but I think it fits the story.**

**Thanks to those that reviewed, Victoria, Chesbutler, inu fan, Edward, and thanks to the person that put me in the Strange Pairings C2…that's the first C2 I've ever been put in... I may try another Inuyasha Fic…but it won't be for a while, I have to see how much backstory is divulged in this week's chapter to see whether I can still shoe horn in my story idea. **


End file.
